About Time You Met: Sach Kukadia, Co-Founder of 7879By Angelica Malin
Sach Kukadia is the Co-Founder and CEO of 7879, a groundbreaking jewellery brand launched in November 2021 alongside Ben Flowers. Specialising in pure gold and platinum jewellery for both men and women, 7879 is named after the atomic numbers of platinum (78) and gold (79), symbolising the brand’s commitment to unalloyed purity. With an innovative approach that combines dynamic pricing and a cutting-edge technology platform, 7879 not only offers beautiful, high-quality jewellery but also provides a new way for people to invest in precious metals.
What inspired you to establish 7879, and how does your experience with SecretSales influence the direction and vision of this luxury jewellery house?
The brand was born at the height of Covid in 2020 during a period of time when the mass market was investing in Crypto and NFTs. It dawned on us that during this period there was no real conversation around gold, but it was clear that gold is inversely correlated with the wealth of the world and as bad things happen – be it an earthquake or war –the price of gold shoots up. The initial process towards the launching of 7879 was born around trying to create an appetite for people to buy and receive gold.
My experience with Secresales.com taught me to make design via testing and through a series of tests we landed on the concept of buying bullion, but in the form of jewellery. Running Secretsales.com for over 10 years taught us lots of things; specifically around the branded market, online, building a team and executing fast.
In a competitive industry, what sets 7879 apart from other jewellery retailers? What unique value do you believe 7879 brings to customers?
7879 is the only jewellery house based in the UK that sells pure gold and pure platinum (99.9%) by weight, providing consumers access to wearable bullion they can then track and trade back to 7879 at a time of their choosing, for the prevailing price of metal.
At 7879, we believe that jewellery should be treated like property, fine wine, art and luxury watches — we believe jewellery should be able to create value, whether it’s being worn or not.
How can customers utilise 7879 to purchase jewellery as an investment? Could you explain the process for tracking the value of their pieces over time?
We only sell investment-grade pure gold. We do not sell 18 karat (which is only 75% pure), 14 karat (which is only 58% pure) or 9 karat (which is only 37% pure). We sell each piece by weight, in real-time, plus an honest craftsmanship fee which takes into account the design, labour, logistics, duties, packaging, VAT and hallmarking.
Every 7879 customer at the point of purchase gains access to a digital personal portfolio via the website. This portfolio is linked in real-time to the International Bullion Market which provides a view of the value of the customer’s jewellery based on each piece’s weight.
7879 offers customers the ability to sell their jewellery back to the company. How does this process work, and what are the benefits for the customer?
Customers can do this via their portfolio where they can opt to sell back their jewellery for the prevailing price of metal minus a 4% transaction fee.
Once this process is initiated the jewellery is sent back to our depot where it is weighed and the value of that piece is subsequently returned via bank transfer. This unique operation allows our customers to turn their jewellery into a tradable currency.
You’ve patented a new technique for strengthening platinum jewellery. What does this mean for the quality and durability of your platinum pieces, and how significant is this innovation for the industry?
We are currently selling a patented technology in Europe and the Eastern world and are the only company to be doing this, though this is not our patent — it’s the patent belonging to one of our manufacturers.
This patented technology strengthens pure platinum jewellery to be harder and more durable than its diluted equivalent for the first time. So now you can buy a superior platinum product for a fraction of the price.
Platinum is currently outselling gold at 7879. Do you see this as a trend in the broader market, and what factors do you think are driving this shift?
Platinum is outselling gold because we sell platinum based on its real-time stock price and it trades for approximately half the price of gold, which means that most pieces are usually 50% cheaper on site. Almost every other retailer will sell platinum at a premium to gold and this is one of the main reasons why we exist.
Given the rising popularity of platinum, do you expect this trend to continue? How is 7879 positioned to cater to increasing demand for platinum jewellery?
We don’t see this as a trend, we see this as customers learning more about the value and the properties of platinum, so we believe that this is a long-term pattern in the market.
What are some of the bestselling pieces at 7879, and what do these preferences tell you about current consumer tastes in luxury jewellery?
We believe that there is beauty in simplicity and our designs are intended to be worn everyday, forever. All of our items are designed very classically for that reason.
You recently introduced a new platinum wedding ring. What makes this piece stand out, and how has the response been from customers so far?
The 7879 wedding band optimises everything reflected in love and marriage. The purity of the platinum corresponds with the purity of love. The strength of the ring, now with the patented technology, embodies long-lasting love and the price point, which is around 60% less than the brand equivalent, means that this is now affordable to all.
For more information on 7879, please see here.